Oz meets Middle Earth
by LadyRynofSunnydale
Summary: When Elphaba and Fiyero leave Oz, they don't exactly disappear, but stumble their way into Middle Earth with all its inhabitants. This is set post-musical and post-Lord of the Rings, though you'll recognize the characters. LOTR X Wicked crossover.
1. Leaving Oz

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Wicked or Lord of the Rings. I just borrow them for a time and play with them.

**A/N:** _Hey everyone! I will try to keep Author's Notes at the beginning of chapters short, but since this is the first chapter of the story this will be a tad bit long. This is my first time trying my hand at a Wicked fanfic, though I have tried my hand some with Lord of the Rings with my NCIS crossover. But by no means go easy on my reviews. I would like to improve, and I can only improve if people give me constructive criticism. Don't get me wrong though, I don't mind the short reviews of "I like it," but I'm not a big fan of "I don't like it" and that's it. At least give me a little sliver of why, even if it's very basic. Ok, the Elphaba is based off of Eden Espinosa's or Teal Wicks's version of Elphaba, the Fiyero is based off of Derrick William's version of Fiyero, and the Glinda is based off of Megan Hilty's version of Glinda. So, that is my slight disclaimer if some of the characters seem a tad bit out of character compared to the version of Elphaba/Fiyero/Glinda you've seen. Ok, enough of this author's note, if you've read to the end of this I highly applaud you and give you a virtual dessert of your choice, and on with the story! This story is also musical-verse._

**Rating:** T

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As Elphaba stumbled over the rock that just conveniently jutted out of the earth in her path, Fiyero reached over to try and help her stay up. Unfortunately, his scarecrow form wasn't strong enough to hold her up, and she went down in a heap on the ground, her black hair flying forward and pooling over her face and the ground. Fiyero kneeled down next to her, his eyes filled with worry.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he placed his gloved hand on her back. "You fell pretty hard."

Elphaba sat up slowly and pushed her hair out of her face, flashing Fiyero a strained and weary smile. "I'm fine." When Fiyero gave her a skeptical look, she shook her head. "Really, I'm fine. Now we need to keep going." She made to get up, but lost her balance halfway through and collapsed on the ground again.

"Yeah, sure, alright." Fiyero's rucksack face crinkled with worry as he laid the hand that he had taken off her back as she attempted to stand on her shoulder. "Let's just stay here for the night. Let you get some rest. You're dead on your feet."

"Yero, we can't. We have to keep moving and get as far away from Oz as possible. This land is barely changed from Oz."

She made to get up, but Fiyero pushed her down again. "Elphaba. Escaping from Oz will do us no good if you're not alive to live a life away from it." Elphaba opened her mouth to object, but he shook his head. "Please, Fae. For me?" He said the last two words so softly she barely heard him. Her shoulders drooped and she sighed.

"Alright, alright. We can stop here." She then for the first time looked around. "Do you have any idea where here is?"

They had been traveling already for weeks, trying to get as far away from Oz as possible and living off of whatever they found along the way. Well, Elphaba had at least. Fiyero, being a scarecrow, hadn't needed any substance or sleep. They had headed out West from Kiamo Ko, both with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Dorothy had taken the broomstick, and Glinda had the Grimmerie and her hat, so Elphaba hadn't felt the need to take anything else, with the exception of her cloak, which was the same one Glinda had draped over her shoulders that day in the Wizard's Palace. So far, they had seen nothing but sloping land, grass, and the occasional tree. This land immediately to the west of the Vinkus had never been surveyed by anyone in Oz, even by the Winkies themselves. Only superstitions about demons and monsters of untold terror had ever come out of the west, and no one ever tried to confirm or refute them. So, Elphaba and Fiyero had decided that the west was the best option for them. The downside though was they had to have to hope those stories were exaggerations.

A few days earlier, Fiyero got to see how not allergic Elphaba was to water because they had had to cross a river that was deep enough for them to have to partially swim across. It had not been a comfortable process, but would have been even more uncomfortable (and impossible) if Elphaba's allergy had been real, because there would have been no way that Fiyero could have carried her across the water. Now, a couple of day west of that river, nothing about their landscape had changed.

Fiyero shook his head. "I have no clue. I've never been farther west than the Great Grasslands, and this is much farther than that. I've heard no one speak of that river back there though, or talk of any land even remotely similar to this," he said as he swept a hand over the land, taking in everything from the rolling plains to the mountains to the north that had remained ever constant but distant since a few days before they crossed the river. He then squinted as he looked farther west. "Hey, is that a forest?"

Elphaba turned and squinted in the direction that he pointed, trying to make out shapes in the failing light. "It looks like it, and a pretty large one at that." The dark shapes that they were studying were present on the western horizon no matter which direction they looked. A lone mountain also jutted up on the northern end, almost like a pinnacle.

"Maybe we can take refuge in that forest?" Fiyero's voice sounded hopeful as he looked towards his love. This trek had taken a lot out of Elphaba, and he wanted her to be able to rest in a permanent location. He didn't know how she could hold up so well after not only losing her best friend, but also her sister in a matter of months. He felt bad telling her she couldn't let Glinda know she was alive, but it was too risky, for her and Glinda. He could tell it killed her though to leave her behind.

"Maybe," Elphaba yawned. Fiyero wrapped his arms around her small frame and let her lean against him as they both lay down on the ground. She snuggled up against him laying her head against his chest. "I love you Yero," she whispered softly, and then he heard her breathing slow and grow even as she fell asleep.

"I love you too Fae," he whispered back as he kissed her on the head. Even though he didn't need it, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

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_**A/N: **Sorry this chapter is short. I have a couple more chapters written, but I just wanted to get the prologue out there and see what this story's reception will be. I know it's random. I seem to be a big fan of random. Please review! I will put the next chapter out if I find people are at least interested in this story!  
_

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	2. Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

**A/N:**_ Ok, I haven't gotten any feedback with my first chapter so I figured I'd see if I'd get any more interest with this second chapter, especially since it's much longer. Please review. It'll make me very happy and feed the plot bunny. The plot bunny is very hungry._

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Wicked or Lord of the Rings, remember? As I've said in my other fics, if I owned them, do you really think I would be suffering through college chemistry?

**Rating:** T (for some language)

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Elphaba was woken by the sun rising over the horizon. She had slept through the night, for the first time in weeks. _I guess I really was tired_, she thought. She yawned and sat up, feeling all the kinks and aches in her body that she had accumulated since she had left Kiamo Ko. She stretched her arms out, feeling and hearing her shoulders popping. As she settled her arms down by her side again, she began to feel all the aches of loss she had accumulated as well in the past months. A small sob escaped her as she thought of Nessa and Glinda.

Oh Nessa. No matter what she would always be her little sister. I mean, she had basically raised her, always looking out for her and protecting her. No matter what Glinda said, her mother's death and her sister's crippling was her fault. Come on, her father wouldn't have made her mother chew milk flowers all the time if she hadn't been born. Nessa could have had a normal life. And after all this time she still couldn't get Nessa's yell of help to her out of her mind as she ran from the Governor's mansion. They had never been able to make up. She couldn't get the image of her legs sticking out from underneath that house out of her head either. She shivered, rubbing her arms. What a terrible way to die.

Oh, and Glinda. Her only friend. She'd never be able to see her again, ever. And to top it off, she thought Elphaba was dead. She remembered the pain, still remembered the pain, of thinking that Fiyero was dead, and hoped Glinda didn't have to go through that. Though, she guessed Fiyero was right. It was for the better, and safer, that Glinda didn't know they were alive. Ditzy, blonde, caring Glinda.

Elphaba clenched her teeth and shut her eyes closed really tight. Why was life so unfair? She had finally found a friend, a best friend, and then the Wizard had to come along and ruin everything, take everything. She wiped a tear away as it slid down her cheek and looked down at Fiyero. Well, not everything. Fiyero was proof he hadn't taken everything, though he almost had. She had never been so happy to get his letter telling her that he was alive and was coming for her. She stroked his cheek. At least she still had him.

He stirred slowly as her feather light touches barely grazed over his rucksack face, and opened his eyes. "Good morning beautiful," he said with a grin.

"What'd I say about calling me beautiful," she responded with a stern look on her face.

"And what'd _I_ say about you not believing I think you're beautiful." Fiyero sat up with a small grin on his face, and then his grin faded as he looked closely at Elphaba, and noticed the slight redness in her eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," she said, not looking him in the eye, but looking to the west. She nodded her head in the direction and said, "That is most definitely a forest."

Fiyero turned to look, and got his first look at the grand forest before him in the light of the sun. The thing was huge, and he could barely see the sun glinting of the many leaves. "I guess that's our destination then."

Elphaba stood up, this time keeping her balance, though trying to hide from Fiyero how weak she felt. Her legs shook beneath her dress and threatened to collapse on her again, but she refused to let them. Her amount of eating since they had left Kiamo Ko had not been enough, but she didn't want Fiyero to worry. Hell, her eating while at Kiamo Ko had left much to be desired. Once they got settled down, then they could worry, and only then. "Alright then, lets go."

"Elphaba, don't you want to eat something first?" He started looking around, looking for anything that could be edible in the area.

"I'll be fine until we reach the forest. I'm sure there'll be more than enough food there."

"Fae…"

"Fiyero! I'm fine!" Elphaba snapped as she glared at her lover still sitting on the ground. She began walking towards the forest as Fiyero scrambled up to follow her, tripping and falling in the process, but finally getting his footing and stumbling after her.

She kept one hand on her long black dress, holding it up a bit to keep it out of the way of her feet. She didn't need to fall again, and tried her best to talk in a straight line, which miraculously she seemed to be doing. Slowly, but ever so slowly, her fast face slowed, till finally she just stopped, Fiyero beside her. She felt him place his hand on the small of her back, and she finally gave in. She turned towards him, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Yero, I'm sorry for snapping at you. It's just…" she never finished as she buried her head into his shoulder, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed, letting all the pain, the worry, the frustration flow out in that one moment.

"Shhh, it's ok. I know, I know," Fiyero said softly, stroking her hair and holding her close. She WAS tired of being the strong one. And for once, she let it show. For the first time since she thought Fiyero was dead, she let herself go, and for the first time, she had someone to comfort her.

Once her shaking subsided, Fiyero released her and she backed up a bit. He gently grasped both sides of her face, stroking her jaw with his thumbs. He leant down and softly captured her lips with his. When they broke apart, he leant his forehead against hers. "We'll be alright. You'll see. We'll get through this."

Elphaba gave him a watery smile, then wiped at her face with her sleeve. "Ugh," she said as she looked at the dirty state of her dress. "We better get going again."

Fiyero just gave her an encouraging smile and slung his arm around her shoulders, and they walked side by side like that for the rest of the day.

The forest got closer and closer, and they both picked up their pace as the prospect of sleeping under cover that night loomed. As they got closer, Elphaba's ears picked up the unmistakable sound of running water, though it was very faint.

Then, just as the sun set, they ran across (almost literally) their first sign of human life in weeks. Before them, between them and the forest, was a wide dirt road. Many boot prints littered the ground, along with parallel wheel tracks with hoof prints between them. Elphaba started at the sight and looked nervously in both directions, hoping against hope that there weren't any travelers on the road. Even if the people who inhabited this land had never heard of Oz before, she doubted green people were more welcomed here than in Oz, and she didn't need another witch hunt on her hands. In both directions though, no movement could be seen. Just dark, smooth road. As she looked closer at the tracks, she found it odd to find so many little prints, like children, among the larger boot prints. She felt Fiyero grab her hand and tug.

"Come on." The two of them ran from the road all the way to the forest, stopping once deep enough into the forest that they couldn't see the road anymore. Once they stopped, Elphaba collapsed on the ground, her chest heaving.

"Yero, I can't go any farther," she panted. She could feel her legs shaking, and finally gave in to just letting her body flop onto the floor. She heard more than felt Fiyero plop down beside her.

"That's alright. We can rest here a while."

Elphaba closed her eyes and breathed in the earthy smell the forest had to offer. It was quiet, but she had no qualms about that. All she knew is that the ground was soft, and the air cool.

As he lay there, Fiyero began to look around the forest they had just run into. It was really dark, and close. And quiet. He nearly jumped out of his clothes when a squirrel ran above them on the branches of the trees, chattering at them. Or Squirrel? No, it wasn't talking.

"Yeah, yeah, same to you buddy," he said back to it, settling back down onto the ground beside his love.

He then heard the faint sound of chuckling and looked over at his companion. "Do mine ears deceive me? Are you, chuckling?"

"Shut up," Elphaba said between giggling as she hit him on the leg.

Suddenly the forest didn't seem so bad anymore as Fiyero began to hear more animals moving around. He then looked at the forest around him coated in green light that filtered through the leaves and over at his lover laying on the ground beside him, still quietly chuckling. He couldn't help but smile at the obviously exhausted witch whose eyes had yet to open again since she had collapsed there, though her body was still shaking with the giggles.

_She looks beautiful_. He knew a lot of people before she was the Wicked Witch used to say that she could be passable if you looked past her green skin, but Fiyero didn't see it that way at all. He saw the green skin as just as much part of her beauty as the rest of her features. It was different, exotic. Most definitely unique. With that thought he lay down next to her as she again snuggled up to him and fell fast asleep.

_I'm the luckiest man, well scarecrow, in the world._

_

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_

As Fiyero awoke, he became aware that Elphaba was still sleeping soundly beside him, breath softly blowing the straw that stuck out of this hat back and forth. As he looked at her, really looked at her, he realized how skinny and tired she looked. He slid out from underneath her, gently setting her back down on the ground, and went to go look for some food. He couldn't go too far because the whole damned forest looked the exactly the same no matter where he looked, and he could get lost really easily. He headed towards the sound of the water that grew louder the closer he got, and found some edible berry bushes along the bank of a river. Praising his good luck, he started collecting some berries and headed back to Elphaba. As he returned, he noticed her sitting up and looking around, worry flickering through her eyes.

"Fae, I'm right here."

Elphaba turned and looked at him immediately, the worry evaporating. "Where'd you go?"

"Food." He held out his hands, which cupped a good amount of berries. Her eyes light up immediately as she stood up, albeit shakily, and walked towards him. She took a couple berries and popped them in her mouth, her eyes closing in happiness as she chewed. "Where'd you find these?" she asked as she swallowed the berries in her mouth and took a seat on the mossy ground.

Fiyero waved his hand in the westerly direction he had just come from. "Over by a river other there. They looked better than anything else you have been eating this trip."

Elphaba just smiled and scooted closer, sighing in contentment as he slid he arm around her shoulders. She popped a couple more berries in her mouth as her eyes stared without seeing at the trees in front of her. "You know, we never really discussed what we would do once we got out of Oz."

"I was more worried about getting you out of that castle than worrying about what exactly we were going to do." Fiyero leaned over and kissed the top of Elphaba's head, squeezing her shoulders. "We'll figure something out. You've got a pretty good brain up there."

"Oh right, I forgot I was talking to the brainless scarecrow here." She had finished all her berries, and elbowed him in the side. "I can't believe you asked the Wizard for a brain."

"Hey, I physically don't have a brain, and it was pretty quick thinking on my part to think of that as an excuse to go with Dorothy to the Emerald City in that short of a notice. I mean, wham, wake up, there's Dorothy. Besides, you did use to call me brainless, remember? Galinda's brainless boyfriend." He pushed back on Elphaba so that she fell on the ground, chuckling.

"Yes, well I was your girlfriend's weird roommate remember? That got 'Galindafied.'" Elphaba sat up and did a toss-toss with her hair. "Toss-toss." Fiyero threw back his head and laughed.

"Pink does go good with green."

"It does not!" Elphaba slapped Fiyero's arm. "I have no idea where Glinda came up with that ridiculous notion. Really, pink and green. Maybe for a rose, but I am not rose." Elphaba then proceeded to pick out some of the brambles that had become stuck in her hair during the night.

"A rose by any other name…" Fiyero began, but Elphaba dropped her hair immediately to cover his mouth.

"Don't you dare start quoting any of Glinda's love stories to me. That was torture when she was bored. 'Oh Romeo, Romeo.'" Elphaba fluttered her lashes and put on a sickeningly sweet smile, placing both hands over her heart. Her smile turned into a scowl as she looked over as Fiyero laughing. "I never want to hear that story again as long as I live."

"Well aren't you the romantic." Fiyero couldn't stop laughing.

Elphaba sniffed and put her nose in the air. "I'm a realist." Suddenly, she threw herself at Fiyero and covered his mouth with her hand.

"Well, Elphaba, not that I don't mind this position we're in…" Fiyero began, his voice muffled.

"Shh! Do you hear that," she whispered.

"Hear what?"

"Shh, listen."

Then Fiyero heard it. It sounded like, well, like a hunting horn being blown and dogs baying. The more he listened, the clearer the sound became. Then he realized that was because whoever was making the noise was getting closer.

"Fiyero, we have to get out of here, we'll be caught!" Elphaba's voice sounded frantic as she jumped up and reached down to pull Fiyero up. The two of them stumbled back the way they had came, Fiyero hoping beyond hope that the hunting party couldn't cross that river.

"Sweet Oz, Fiyero, the road." Elphaba's voice came through his thoughts as she stopped suddenly. "It's daytime now so it'll be more likely people will be on it."

"Well it's a likely in front of us and a definitely behind us, but we have to decide quick, cause they're coming fast."

Elphaba looked around. "Well maybe we can hide somewhere here in the forest. The trees?"

That was when they both realized at the same moment how much the forest muffled sounds when as suddenly as they were startled by the arrival a large, dark, galloping stag, the dogs were upon them, dripping wet from the river and baying at their escaping prey.

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	3. Welcoming Party

**A/N:** _Thank you to SoConfusified and Juliethebold for reviewing! Your reviews mean a lot to me and it's nice to know someone is reading and enjoying my story! Here's the third chapter out, and I have some of the next chapter written as well, so the more reviews I get the faster that chapter will come out. Oh, there are some horse terms that I use in this story that may need to be clarified if you don't know horses. There are links to pictures on the bottom of my profile for halter and grey dappled horses, so if you need clarifications on those go check them out._

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Lord of the Rings nor Wicked.

**Rating:** T

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_Previously on Oz Meets Middle Earth: That was when they both realized at the same moment how much the forest muffled sounds when as suddenly as they were startled by the arrival a large, dark, galloping stag, the dogs were upon them, dripping wet from the river and baying at their escaping prey._

The hounds' attention was suddenly diverted by the two humans in their path, and they decided to give up their chase and circle the pair, Fiyero trying to cover Elphaba's body with his own. The hounds were like nothing Fiyero had ever seen, and he had been hunting for years. They were huge, easily the size of a small pony, and were shaggy and wolf-like. Their lips were curved up in a snarl, and their golden eyes glittered intelligently in the green light that had filtered through the trees. Maybe they were Hounds?

"Please, we mean no harm, leave us alone," Fiyero shouted over the snarls and howling.

Then, out of the trees in front of them, broke the hunting party, all mounted on magnificent grey-dappled horses. The horses' manes were long and flowing in the wind, and their tails would have dragged on the ground if they hadn't been holding them up and arched in the excitement of the chase. Their nostrils flared and their ears were pricked forward at the hounds' excitement, but their hooves made almost no noise whatsoever. It was like a strong wind was coming through and blowing the sound away, but there wasn't even a breeze.

As Elphaba glanced up from underneath Fiyero, she was surprised by the sight that greeted her. However, it wasn't the hounds surrounding her nor the horses that burst through the trees, but the riders on them that surprised her the most. She had to say that those were some of the most beautiful people she had ever seen in her entire life. Almost all of them were blonde with long hair had the front parts of their hair braided back to keep it out of their faces with the rest of their hair kept loose. They were all wearing out of date clothing in greens and browns, earthy colors, with knee high boots and pants with fancy looking tunics over their shirts. The leader of the band seemed to be wearing the most fancy clothes of all of them though, which was complemented by a simple golden circlet wrapped around his head. And the most remarkable thing wasn't that they were riding without any saddles or bridles, or that they were the most beautiful creatures to grace Oz, but that their ears were pointed. Every single one of them.

All the riders almost in unison sat up and the horses came to a stop at the edge of the circle of hounds. The lead rider, the one with the golden circlet, called something out in a foreign tongue, and the hounds slunk back to the horses, seemingly very proud of themselves as their tongues lolled out of their mouths and their tails wagged. The leader swung his leg up and over the neck of his horse, dropping lightly to the ground, revealing his riding companion. Elphaba tried to keep herself from snorting. He looked like an extremely hairy munchkin that really needed a bath.

"Legolas, is that a scarecrow?" The rough voice came easily out of the bearded mouth as he gaped upon the pair on the ground. "And is that lass green?"

Elphaba pushed up on Fiyero, making him let her up. She sat up and turned in the riders' direction just in time to see one of them squeeze her horse forward beside the leader. She spoke in what seemed to be the same foreign tongue as the leader, a language Elphaba couldn't even begin to understand. However, to Fiyero, it sounded a bit similar to the old languages of the Vinkus, and he was able to pick up a few words, such as green, dangerous, and king. As the leader finished his discussion, he locked eyes with Elphaba.

"What are you doing in these woods?" he said, his voice strong and accented, but very controlled.

"We're refugees from Oz, seeking a place to stay," Fiyero answered, placing a hand protectively on Elphaba's shoulder. He felt Elphaba wince. Maybe he shouldn't have said Oz. Brainless.

"I've never heard of this Oz. Where is that?" The leader kept his drawn bow in hand as he patted one of the hounds on the head, which was easily up at elbow height.

"To the East. Far to the East," Elphaba finally spoke. Elphaba narrowed her eyes a bit, trying to convey that that was the last of that conversation. She then looked down when he wouldn't back down, and brushed some of the leaves off her black dress.

Fiyero looked between his lover and the leader, and finally decided to take a leap of faith. Hell, they needed all the help they could get and maybe their bad luck had finally wore out. He looked back towards the leader as he trained his eyes on him. "Please, we need help. We've been traveling for a long while, and," he paused and looked at Elphaba. Ah, what the hell, a little lie never hurt anyone, "my wife here needs some rest. She's dead on her feet and hasn't had a decent meal or decent sleep in a long while."

"Wife?" The hairy munchkin asked, looking from Fiyero's face to Elphaba as they both turned to look at him, Elphaba trying to rein in her urge to yell at him. The munchkin through his hands up. "Now, I won't say that green people are normal, but she does look human and I wouldn't think a human would marry a scarecrow." With that he slid off the horse, landing roughly on his feet and walked up to stand next to the leader, pulling the axe from off of his back. He set the butt of the axe on the ground and leaned against the head, looking both companions over.

"Gimli, be nice," the leader said, turning his head to look at him. "Remember how angry you were when the elves started making judgments against you before they even knew you." Elphaba's ears pricked up at the word 'elves,' but tried to contain her anger a little more. It wasn't these guys' fault about what happened in Oz, nor did she have any right to judge them right off the bat as well. It wasn't their fault she was cranky from lack of sleep either. The leader surprised her though when he trained his eyes on her and she could see they had softened a bit.

"Yeah, but we didn't know if these…people…are on our side or not. For all we know they could be spies." The munckin drew the leader's attention back to him.

"Gimli, just because she's green doesn't mean she's evil."

"Doesn't mean she's not though either, does it?"

"I wasn't always a scarecrow," Fiyero defended, glaring at Gimli as the two turned to look at him again. "I got turned into one when I was dying because I had been tortured as a traitor." Fiyero noticed the leader grasp his bow tighter and the softness that had entered his eyes quickly leave. He then quickly blurted out, "I had supported someone who was fighting the ruler of Oz because he was mistreating the citizens by discriminating against those who were different and enslaving them." _By the unnamed God, that was a weak cover-up._

"And I'm guessing you're that someone," the leader said, looking at Elphaba who had been glaring at Fiyero through his whole spiel.

"Guilty," she said, shrugging as she looked back at the leader. She then threw her hands out wide. "You going to kill me now? Try to throw water on me to see if I melt? Check to see if I have an extra eye? Maybe see if I turn into a frog?"

The leader sighed as he looked the two over, Elphaba's words not affecting him at all. "Well, you do seem to be a bit malnourished," Fiyero snorted at bit, and Gimli glared at him, "and you don't seem to be spies as I have never heard of a walking talking scarecrow before, nor of a green woman. Nonetheless, we can't let you just wander around our forest. Can you ride?"

"So are you taking us as prisoners or friends?" Elphaba asked, glancing warily a bit at the horses the host was riding. They were a bit bigger than the horses she was used to riding in Munchkinland.

"Well, I guess we'll have to decide that on your behavior as we go to our base." Legolas walked forward and held his hand out to Elphaba. She looked at him warily, but took it as he pulled her up. "And I'll ask again, can you ride?"

"I can," Fiyero said, standing up on his own, trying to keep from wobbling too much as his straw legs and reaching over to hold onto Elphaba.

"Me too. Well, at least I used to ride when I was younger. Mostly ponies though," Elphaba answered, looking over the horses again.

"You? On ponies?" the munckin asked, raising an eyebrow at Elphaba as he looked way up at her tall height.

"That's all they had for riding animals were I grew up," she answered, reaching up to grasp Fiyero's hand on her shoulder.

Legolas held out his hand again to Elphaba. "I'm Legolas, by the way."

Elphaba led go of Fiyero's hand and took it. "Elphaba."

He then turned to Fiyero. "Fiyero," he said, holding out his hand

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," Legolas said, taking his hand and actually letting a smile shine through. He then turned around and called something out, and a female walked out leading a spare horse by her side, actually saddled and with a halter on its head. The horse walked elegantly and daintily over the mossy ground and came to a halt the moment his handler did. "This is Dulin," he said, taking the leadrope from the woman. "He's the horse we usually use to put our kill on after the hunt. It's a bit hard to strap a stag to a horse that doesn't have a saddle on it." Fiyero went to reach for the leadrope, but Legolas pulled it out of his reach. "I'll be leading you through the wood, just in case. We are hospitable, but it doesn't mean we are completely trusting," he finished with a small smile. Fiyero then opted to reach out a hand to stroke the horse's strong neck. He was tall, easily reaching Fiyero's shoulders at his back, and Fiyero's dark hand contrasted against the gray-white hairs of the horse's neck.

Elphaba walked forward towards the horse's head, petting its neck and nose. "We can't expect you to trust us completely within a few minutes of you meeting us, now can we?" She gave a soft laugh as the horse reached its head forward and nibbled on her black dress, blowing softly against her hand. "Hey, that tickles," she said softly. Fiyero smiled beside her. "Can you talk?"

"None of our horses talk here," Legolas softly stated, startling Elphaba out of her discussion. "I don't think I've ever heard of any animals talking actually. Your animals talk?"

"Some of them. The Animals do at least. Or used to," Elphaba answered, sadly petting the horse's soft nose. Legolas's eyes softened again as he gestured to the horse's back.

"My lady?" She started at the polite name, but walked up beside the horse as Legolas handed the leadrope over to the original person who had brought him over then walked up behind Elphaba, grasping her around her ribcage and hoisting her onto the horse's back, settling her into the saddle. He went to help Fiyero, but he put his chin up into the air, then scrambled himself up in back of Elphaba and behind the saddle, and settled himself comfortably. He felt Elphaba shifting herself around in front of him, trying to get comfortable, then he wrapped his arms around her waist. "We'll go slow," Legolas said, walking back to his horse, the munchkin beside him. He then grinned. "Well, you shouldn't have gotten off Gimli, how are you going to get back on?"

"Don't laugh at me you overgrown hobbit. And don't help me. I'll get up there myself." After some time of grabbing the horse's mane and jumping a couple of times to get some height, he was able to pull himself onto the horse's back and settle himself. Legolas, chuckling, swung himself easily up in front of him and took the leadrope of Elphaba's and Fiyero's horse.

* * *


End file.
